Blog entries by cdub

Having an emergency fund is extremely important. Knowing that you can handle an emergency without going into debt is a great help for your peace of mind. Everyone should have at least 3 to 6 months of expenses squirreled away in a Checking or Savings account for an emergency. Now the question...

I discovered Dave Ramsey and his baby steps to financial peace by downloading The Total Money Makeover from Audible in September 2011. The book spoke to me. “The borrower is slave to the lender” How true is this? How often have I felt controlled by debt in the past. I’ve gotten it under control...

(This article is completely outdated and irrelevant now that YNAB is a web app but brought it back online for posterity) As you may already know… I adore YNAB. And I adore Google’s Chromebook – their cheap, fast, safe, and worry free computer that has become my main computer. The only time I...

Like most people – I’ve had a roller coaster relationship with debt and money. I never really understood money – or the real value in it until my twenties when I got married. Before then I always seemed to be getting into debt and I felt like that was “normal”. Well it may be “normal” for most...

Some people were curious so I thought I’d post how I use my YNAB budget categories. I got my idea on how to do this after reading Elizabeth Warren’s All Your Worth where she recommends sorting everything into three categories: Must Haves (I call this category “Needs”), Wants, and Savings. I’ve...

What? I'm badmouthing YNAB? The best budgeting or personal finance software out there? That's impossible! But yes, I am. They can't be perfect all the time. I'm sorry Jesse and the YNAB team... but there is one glaringly HUGE FLAW in the default YNAB budgeting categories. The default budgeting...

One year along and not as far as I would have liked due to Murphy arriving as my wife's job went away in June and hasn't been able to find a good new one yet. But 2022 is looking good. :) Once our Emergency Fund gets back up to $20 to $25k (at ~$14k now) we'll start hammering at it again. :)...

I thought it'd nice to do an annual status report grading my progress paying off the mortgage. Above is a graph comparing my current progress in paying off the mortgage vs what my mortgage balance would be without paying extra. But first.... some stats: Original Balance: $288,225.00...

Why payoff your mortgage? Freedom. I haven't had a car payment in 6 years and I REALLY love that feeling. Imaging that feeling but having a paid off house. That'd be bliss. Why payoff your mortgage? Less stress. I'm freelance and the sole earner for my family of five. I've been blessed with...